In the marketing of small objects, such as vials, bottles, or the like filled with a liquid, pasty, or otherwise fluent material it is necessary to provide individual labels on the objects, then group them in lots, and load the lots into shipping boxes or cartons. These cartons in turn must be made up to the requisite size for the lot they are to hold and must be printed with indicia identifying the contents as well as the manufacturer or shipper and the person to whom the package is being sent. This type of packaging system is common in the cosmetic and pharmaceutical industry.
Normally these steps are done in separate production lines whose outputs are stored before the final package is assembled and completed. Thus labels are made up at one location and stored, then applied at another. Similarly boxes are made up at one location and printed at another. The labeled objects are typically stored in large quantities and then subdivided into lots that are loaded into the boxes. In general the procedure is complex and slow. Errors are common and the costs incurred in making up shippable packages are considerable.